By the time Hermione woke up from a peaceful slumber, morning had come and gone. She glanced over at a clock on the bedside table to see it was well past noon. She rolled out of bed, headed to the bathroom, and ventured into the living room. She let an audible yawn escape, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Damien sitting on one of the couches grinning at her with two cups of coffee on the coffee table.
"Good morning, Hermione. I take it you slept well?" Damien asked pleasantly as he watched her add her cream and sugar to her cup. Just the simple act of watching her blow softly before sipping made him go crazy for her.
"I did, thank you." She dared herself to lock eyes with him, finding herself looking away the instant he intensified the gaze. A light blush played across her cheeks, thoughts racing to the possibility that either he or his "roommate" heard or saw her last night. She coughed nervously, trying to break the awkward silence that some how found its way into the room.
"So um... Do you have any plans for today?" Damien knew he would have to be the one to offer an escort around the area, or possibly see if she wanted time away from him. He longed for it to be the former, but had a feeling the latter was the likely situation.
"Actually, if you are not doing anything, I have a couple places I would like to go see. And I don't plan to be in Australia for long," she took a glance at him, noticing a slight change in his posture. "I came out here to find my family. I am sure you heard of the war we had back home in England, well, I am muggleborn. Not only that, but I was a primary target. You see, my best friend was none other than Harry Potter, so it was decided that we would send my parents into hiding." Damien did not look surprised, so she continued on. "However, I sent them away after I wiped their memory of magic and me, and after I sent them, I hid their location from myself. I found my reminder, and I am being told it is time to find them." Hermione took a deep breath. She finally let loose everything, letting him know why she was here.
"So once you find them, will you stay here in Australia, or will you go back to England?" Damien asked nonchalantly. He was pretty certain he knew the answer already, but just wanted to make sure, so he could plan accordingly.
"I was thinking I would go back home. I need to find them first, but I did leave pretty quickly to come here." She stood up, and suddenly remembered she was in her pajamas still, a deep blush crawling on her cheeks, "Pardon me a moment..." and she sprinted down the hall into her bedroom.
Hermione rushed to her beaded bag, opening it up and immediately began a search for something to wear. Everything she had encountered were not suited for a potential date day with an amazing man, but she managed to find something to fit the occasion. She quickly changed, looked in the mirror, and muttered a string of charms to fix her hair perfectly, apply a light make-up, and a few others just in case. Putting on a cute pair of shoes, she managed to return to the living room 5 minutes after she left. Thanking magic in her head, she realized the living room was empty.
"Damien?" She called out, moving towards a doorway she had not yet ventured past. Looking in, she saw an elaborate kitchen. Once more she was in awe, running her fingers along the top of the marble countertops. Lost in her thoughts, she did not hear the footsteps approaching her from behind.
"Why, you look lovely!" Damien confessed as he greeted her, bringing back her attention. "Are you ready to get started?" Hermione only nodded. Giving her a soft smile, he extended his arm to her. "What would you like to do?" She pondered for a moment, before she moved towards him.
"I want to find my parents," she confessed. "I don't mean to reintroduce myself to them, I just want to locate them, so I know where to go when I am ready to try and change things back." She knew this would be for the best, and did not want to procrastinate too much, or else Harry would be finding her and dragging her to them.
"Do you know where to look?"
"Um... Let's start with where my self note starts?" She rummaged through her beaded bag, pulling out her folder with all her important papers, selecting the one she was looking for. Handing it over to Damien, he took one look at it and handed it back to her.
"You ready?" He held out his arm again, making sure she held on firmly. "Let's go!" Instantly they disaparated from his place and into a safe spot by a quiet residential area. He lead the way, steering her along, making sure she would not turn and run. Passing four houses, they finally reached the address written on the paper. Damien stopped to look at it, when Hermione realized this was it.
Looking at the house, it had similar touches to the one she grew up in London, there was a bird house looking mailbox that was made by her father and painted by her mother, a perfect lawn, and beautiful flowers perfectly trimmed. Seeing all of this made her long for her family to be back together in London, relaxing together and not worrying about a thing. Hermione felt a nudge from Damien, who motioned with his head to the large front window. The curtains were open, and she was able to see the couple inside, recognizing them as her parents. Both of them looked so happy and so in love, as if they were young and newly wed all over again. Sadness ripped through Hermione's heart, knowing she would have to break this false illusion and bring them back to who they once were.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she tried her best to not let them fall. Damien heard the change in her breath and turned to look at her. "Do you want to go? We can go get a bite to eat, maybe go shopping for clothes? How about a new book?" He chuckled when her eyes lit up to the prospects of going to an Australian bookstore. "C'mon, I know the perfect place." He wrapped his arms around her in a hug, aparating to a bookstore in Wizarding Sydney.
There was a magical chime that rang when they aparated into the "entry area" near the door. Hermione practically ran to the nearest display, making an array of sounds, ranging from the normal oooh and ahhs to the excited gasps and "oh my goodness!" Damien sat back and watched her move to the second story of the building.
An hour later, Hermione had a small stack of books in her arms, and a broad grin across her face. "Let's see what you have found here... A book on the Australian History of Magic, Magical Australia's Who's Who, and several books on Aborigine Magic and Charms. Interesting choice, but I can see you just want to learn more." As he read each title, he moved the book into his own arms, helping her take them to the registers to check out.
"Oh shoot! I have not had time to convert my money!" Hermione groaned. How could she had been so stupid! Now she would have to go and put the books away and come back for them once she changes her currency around.
"Don't worry about it, make this my gift to you." Damien continued to the registers. The instant that had left his mouth, it donned on him why that was not such a good idea. He looked over with a glimmer of hope it would be the usual clerk working, who knew where to withdrawal the money, but of course he was not so lucky. This looked to be a new clerk, one he had not seen before, and he had his fingers crossed that he could write it down and not have to say it out loud.
There were a couple people in front of them, and Damien could not be more pleased. He knew he had to tell her, but did not want this to be the way she found out. He pulled out his wallet, only to see nothing was there. Time seemed to pass quickly as it was finally their turn. Hermione smiled at him when the books were being checked out, yet he could feel the sweat began to run. This was not what he had planned, not what he was wanting to happen.
The clerk finished ringing up the purchase, and gave the total for the books. Damien looked around for a quill and parchment to write the account information down, but none was to be seen.
"Will this be withdrawn from your vault or will you pay now?" the clerk asked sweetly. It was now or never, Damien thought. She would have to know eventually. Taking a deep breath, he took the leap.
"From my vault."
"And can I get the vault number?"
Damien sighed a sigh of relief. This could have been worse, but she only needed the number! "Vault number 423." The clerk nodded her head in comprehension, doing the transfer of funds. He was glad he was able to dodge everything. He smiled back at Hermione, who was bouncing with excitement. The clerk handed over the bag with her new books, and she took them with great pleasure.
The two headed towards the door, he now was free to tell her how he wanted to. Nothing could stop him now. All he had left was to plan it perfectly. The moment the door opened, the clerk came yelling.
"Wait! Mister Malfoy! I need to get a signature from you verifying the purchase!"
"Shit!" he muttered under his breath, hoping that Hermione did not hear her. Quickly, he signed the slip of parchment, and exited the store. He did not see Hermione instantly, and when he turned to look for her, there she was, wand pointed at his chest.
"Mister Malfoy?" She questioned. She was not going to back down. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now.
Damien looked at her calmly as he cautiously walked closer to her. "Let's talk about this back at my place, shall we?" He grabbed her arm and aparated back to his place. Hermione forced herself free from his hand the moment they arrive, and once more stood her ground.
"Ok Malfoy, spill."